A sequence of unprecedented US strikes in opposition to Iran “devastated” its nuclear programme, Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth mentioned Sunday, as he asserted Washington was not searching for regime change in Tehran.
The Pentagon chief urged Iran’s leaders to search out an off-ramp to the battle after President Donald Trump introduced the strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment web site at Fordo, together with nuclear amenities in Isfahan and Natanz.
“We devastated the Iranian nuclear programme,” Hegseth instructed a Pentagon press briefing, including that the operation “didn’t goal Iranian troops or the Iranian individuals”.
Trump “seeks peace, and Iran ought to take that path”, Hegseth continued. “This mission was not, and has not, been about regime change,” he added.
Trump’s intervention — regardless of his previous pledges to keep away from one other “ceaselessly conflict” — threatens to dramatically widen the battle after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing marketing campaign in opposition to Iran final week, with Tehran vowing to retaliate if Washington joined in.
Earlier the US president mentioned Washington would hit extra targets if Tehran didn’t capitulate. Hours later, Iran launched two waves of assaults in opposition to its long-time foe Israel.
“Iran the bully of the Center East should now make peace,” Trump mentioned, warning future assaults could be “far better” until a diplomatic answer was reached.
“Keep in mind, there are numerous targets left,” he added.
Iranian Overseas Minister Abbas Araghchi accused america of sabotaging diplomacy after talks with European powers.
“This week, we held talks with the E3/EU when the US determined to explode that diplomacy,” he wrote on X.
Araghchi later instructed reporters in Istanbul america and Israel had “crossed a really huge crimson line”, asserting Iran would proceed to defend itself “by all means mandatory”.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the US strikes, saying the assault revealed Washington was the “essential issue behind” Israel’s navy marketing campaign.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the US strikes, saying Trump’s determination to “goal Iran’s nuclear amenities with the superior and righteous would possibly of america will change historical past”.
‘Morning of alarms’
The Israeli navy mentioned it was checking the outcomes of the US raid on the deeply buried nuclear facility in Fordo, with a spokesman saying it was “too quickly” to know if Iran had eliminated enriched uranium from the important thing web site or if it had been buried within the assault.
US Vice President JD Vance maintained his nation was “not at conflict with Iran, we’re at conflict with Iran’s nuclear program”.
He added the strikes had “considerably delayed” the event of a nuclear weapon — one thing Iran has lengthy denied pursuing.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine mentioned the “essential strike package deal comprised of seven B-2 Spirit bombers” flying 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran with a number of aerial refuelings.
The top of Iran’s Pink Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, mentioned there have been no fatalities within the US strikes on the nuclear amenities, based on Iranian state tv.
In response to the US assault, Iran’s armed forces mentioned they focused a number of websites in Israel together with Ben Gurion airport, the nation’s essential worldwide gateway close to Tel Aviv.
Israeli rescuers mentioned at the very least 23 individuals had been wounded. Police mentioned at the very least three impacts had been reported.
One in every of them was the Ramat Aviv space of Tel Aviv, tearing holes within the facades of house blocks.
In Jerusalem, Claudio Hazan, a 62-year-old software program engineer, mentioned he hoped the US intervention would hasten an finish to the Iran-Israel conflict. “Israel by itself wouldn’t cease… and it will take longer,” he mentioned.
David, a 43-year-old Jerusalem resident, instructed AFP: “We’re all joyful that the US is lending a hand.”
Israel mentioned it had launched contemporary strikes on western Iran and in Qom, south of Tehran. Iran’s official IRNA information company reported 4 Revolutionary Guard members had been killed in strikes on a navy base within the metropolis’s north.
The Israeli navy mentioned it had “struck missile launchers able to launch towards Israeli territory, troopers within the Iranian Armed Forces, and swiftly neutralised the launchers that launched missiles towards Israeli territory a short time in the past”.
Iran’s Shargh newspaper reported {that a} “large explosion was heard” Sunday in Bushehr province, house to Iran’s solely nuclear energy plant.
‘Step Again’
Iranian information businesses additionally reported strikes in Yazd province.
In Tehran, AFP journalists mentioned the roar of plane flying over town might be heard repeatedly for the primary time since Israel’s preliminary assaults.
The UN’s Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company mentioned it had not detected any improve in radiation ranges at key nuclear websites in Iran following the strikes and Tehran mentioned Sunday there have been “no indicators of contamination”.
Saudi Arabia mentioned no radioactive results had been detected within the Gulf and voiced “nice concern” over the US strikes.
The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticised the US transfer and urged de-escalation.
The European Union referred to as on all sides “to step again”, whereas stressing Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer referred to as on Iran to “return to the negotiating desk” over its nuclear ambitions.
The Iranian overseas minister mentioned he would journey to Moscow for “severe consultations” with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Following his deal with, Trump warned Iran in opposition to “any retaliation”. Iran and its proxies have beforehand attacked US navy bases in Iraq and elsewhere within the area.
Iran’s Huthi allies in Yemen on Sunday repeated their menace to renew assaults within the Pink Sea if Washington joined the conflict, saying they had been “prepared to focus on US ships and warships”.
The US president had stepped up his rhetoric in opposition to Iran since Israel first struck Iran on June 13, repeating his insistence it may by no means have nuclear weapons.
Tehran denies searching for an atomic bomb. On Saturday, President Masoud Pezeshkian mentioned Iran’s proper to pursue a civilian nuclear programme “can’t be taken away… by threats or conflict”.
